Tattoo Artist Dan Rossetter (40) originally from Shoreham-by-Sea, UK, but now living in London, had a difficult childhood and was the victim of sexual assault from the age of six until he was 11.

After leaving school aged 16, Dan struggled to hold down a job until he found a career as a gasman for BOC gas while also running his own security firm on the side.

But in 2010 he suffered a mental breakdown after becoming addicted to drugs and alcohol as a result of PTSD from sexual abuse.

Dan went to the police in 2013 and it took three years to have his abuser convicted and sentenced to 13 years in jail.

He hoped with this resolution to his childhood trauma he would be freed from his addiction.

Unfortunately, the opposite happened and, in March 2019, he realised if he kept on this path he would end up dead or in prison.

However, Dan is now more than four years sober and has turned his life around through his passion for tattooing.

His work ethic and dedication have made him one of the most sought after tattoo artists in the business, lending his services to the likes of footballer Eden Hazard, Victor Moses and even YouTuber Ethan Payne.

Dan now has almost 200K followers on TikTok and is the first verified UK Tattoo Artist on the app where he shows off his stunning portfolio.

“In 2010, I suffered from mental health and drink and drug addiction due to being sexually abused as a child between the ages of six and eleven," said Dan.

“In 2013 I decided to go to the police and finally had the strength to discuss what happened to me over a three-year period of Magistrates and Crown Court hearings.

"This person was given 13 years imprisonment and my life of addiction and self sabotaging still got worse.

"By March 2019, my addiction was getting worse, I got to the point where my mental health was deteriorating rapidly and I was feeling very suicidal.

“With a lot of hard work and help from some very good lifestyle coaches I managed to get myself clean and sober and then my obsession became work and being the best version of myself.

"Since I put this stuff to practise, my life has completely changed; my work improved massively celebrity clientele was coming through the door, and now I’m at the point where I am today being four years and four months clean and sober and a life I could only have dreamed off not that long ago.”

Dan had been tattooing since 2010 but it was not until he got control of his mental health and addictions that his business began to flourish.

“I started my tattooing journey in the early part of 2010 for the first five years it was difficult,” he said.

“I had a studio in my hometown of Gatwick for five years then when we made the decision to close the doors in 2015 I partnered up with my business partner Ahmed Alsanawi, AKA A Star Barber.

“He is one of the biggest barbers in the world for haircuts for celebrities.

“I have now been in the game for the last 13 years so I’ve gained a lot of snowball effect returning clients that had kept me busy over the years but what I am most recognised for is tattooing professional footballers.

“I’ve tattooed the most footballers out of any other tattoo artist in the world; I’ve documented a lot of this on TikTok which then blew up so my demand for general public clients has also increased massively.

“I have clients travelling from all over the UK and also from abroad.”

Dan puts in the hours and the miles for his clients; he will often put in a 12 hour day and has even travelled 600 miles around the UK in one day for clients.

“Recently I flew over to Spain to tattoo Real Madrid's Eden Hazard, he wanted a scroll with his five kids' names in it," he said.

“I have tattooed everything in my many years.

"The largest scale tattoo I’ve done was a full back black-and-grey tiger in one session that took me eight-and-a-half-hours to complete for Chelsea Football Club's Victor Moses.

“The cost really varies depending on the scale of the session, anything from £700 - £3,000.”

Dan is an extremely busy man and his success has not come without sacrifice.

While he loves his work, it is a very physically demanding job that has left him burnt out physically and mentally at times.

“A lot of sacrifices had to be made, like working two jobs at the beginning, giving up my time with my family to travel away, working unrealistic hours to the point of burning out physically and mentally,” said Dan.

“Also my neck and back has taken a big hit which to this day still causes me a lot of problems.

“It becomes very demanding and this can lead to burning out mentally and physically. It's something even to this day I still struggle to manage.

“But I get to have fun at work too, I have a great memory of when I let four Chelsea players tattoo random things on my leg from a emoji poo to a disabled badge, also the Adidas logo is on there. It was a funny afternoon."

Dan is now at the top of his industry and has this wisdom to hand down to anyone else looking for their start in a challenging field.

“Create yourself a portfolio of your artwork and keep knocking at the doors of local studios,” he said.

“Become a pest and keep asking until you get an opportunity.

“It’s a hard industry to break into but if you're relentless and want it enough you will get your opportunity.”

ENDS